Sociology Plus
Divorce Rate Definition
The divorce rate is a statistical measure of the number of divorces in a population, usually expressed as the number of divorces in a given year per thousand married couples. It is designed to provide information on the comparative propensity to divorce in different populations.
Crude and Refined Measures
The crude divorce rate for a particular year is calculated by dividing the number of divorces occurring in a population during that year by the average or mid-year population, multiplied by 1,000. Like the crude birth rate, however, this measure takes no account of the age structure of the population — and therefore of the population actually at risk of divorce. A more refined measure divides the number of divorces by the number of marriages in the given year, again multiplied by 1,000.
Uses and Limitations
The divorce rate is sometimes taken as an indicator of social stress in a society. Its usefulness has limits, though: in countries where separation characteristically precedes formal legal divorce, divorce rates become increasingly less relevant as a measure of what individuals in the population actually experience. The concept is closely tied to the sociology of marriage.